Tim Truman (Sunset Beach)

Tim Truman was a fictional character in the American soap opera Sunset Beach, portrayed by American actor Dax Griffin from January 6, 1997 to November 15, 1999. He returned to play his character in the final episode as a part of Meg's dream. He was, however, on contract during the entire series.

Character history

Tim's Kansas backstory was vague and seemed to be altered at times for storyline purposes. In a background check performed by Gregory Richards, it was revealed that he was a college athlete involved in many activities. However, later episodes in the 500's and 600's allude to him being "not smart" and having little ambition. After the Ben/Meg cave-in, Meg talked about Tim's mother "making him carry a handkerchief to school everyday"--which seemed to indicate a well-mannered upbringing. However, in the mid-400 range of episodes, his family was described as "alcoholics" who neglected and abused him, and the Cummings were the "closest thing to a family he ever had." A more consistent element of his backstory was a lifelong devotion to Meg, "since kindergarten." In much of 1997-98, he was portrayed as having redeeming qualities. As the show progressed, he became more of a one-note, intolerable character that few people wanted anything to do with.

In episode 1, Meg Cummings' was about to marry Tim, but it was clear she was having second thoughts due to her involvement with SB on the internet. Her mother Joan seemed to support the idea that Meg was settling for an easy, predictable life. In the church, Meg found Tim making out with her best friend, Connie. Meg escaped to 'Sunset Beach' to find SB. Tim, who decided to continue fighting for Meg, followed her to 'Sunset Beach', where he desperately tried to win her over by helping Annie Douglas to break off Meg and Ben, a new couple. However, eventually, their plan failed. Tim and Annie developed feelings for one another, but it was unclear whether or not it went beyond physical attraction for Tim. By the end of the Kansas debacle in the late 100 episodes, Annie seemed to be quietly smitten, but Tim's inability to let go of Meg prevented any further relationship.

Tim worked as a chauffeur for the Richards family, with a covert assignment to spy on Gregory's children. Gregory described him as "someone who knows how to keep his mouth shut" (episode 30). In episode 35, Caitlin Richards seduced Tim in the back of the limo in an attempt to lose her virginity. At first, Tim refused, but succumbed to Caitlin's advances, which she then revoked when she realized she was still in love with Cole. Before Tim's return to Kansas, he and Caitlin shared a playful kiss that Cole reacted to with jealousy. He realized that Tim was the man Caitlin "almost made love to" and told Caitlin: "A guy like that doesn't know how to be just friends."

At the end of 1997, Tim was one of the survivors of the Terror Island storyline. When under the influence of the drug-laced soup, Tim's worst fear was Meg's face covered in blood. When Mark Wolper, one of the series regulars, was killed off by Derek Evans, Ben Evans' evil twin, Tim was the one who heard Mark's final words: "It was Ben." However, nobody believed him. Tim left Derek with the only telltale sign that distinguished him from his twin—a knife scar on his calf, which Derek covered with prosthetic skin. Some weeks later, Tim wanted to prove that Ben was the killer and eventually followed him (Derek, thinking it was Ben) to his warehouse after Caitlin and Cole's wedding. They fought, and Derek tried to kill Tim by pushing him off a scaffolding.

Tim survived the fall, but was severely injured—notably with a broken jaw that prevented him from speaking. Derek (appearing to be an Evil Ben at the time) snuck into his room at South Bay and smothered him with a pillow, bringing about a coma. Tim was in coma for a long time, and moved to Cedar Oaks. Dax Griffin reported: "I thought after I stirred up a little trouble in Sunset Beach, it might be the end of my character right off the bat. And I was worried when I was in a coma for a month. But the producers reassured me everything would be fine." (SOD magazine, "Dax-terity", 6/9/98)

It was later discovered Derek was behind the entire thing. In the summer of 1998, when Tim realized that Ben was innocent, he confided in Sara: "Deep down, I guess I never thought I was good enough for Meg. It's almost like I had to prove that. To myself...Meg...everyone." (episode 371)

When Tim was recovering in the Cedar Oaks facility, a mysterious amnesia patient began to accost him in his room. Her name was Dana and she had no memory of her past—but Tim slowly realized it was the presumed-dead Maria Torres Evans. When Meg and Ben were meant to finally tie the knot, Tim plotted with Annie to reveal Ben's ex-wife with great fanfare and ruin the wedding. This ended up going even better than they'd planned—Maria walked into the reception and caught Meg's bouquet, shocking everyone. This wasn't without consequence—Gregory fired Tim as a result of his scheming.

From time to time, Tim comforted Meg, but she never fell for him again. They shared a brief kiss in episode 161—when Meg was trying to forget the pain of the cave-in incident—during which Tim persuaded her to "go ahead and use me, Meg." They kissed again upon their return to Kansas, but Meg was distressed by his assumption that they were getting back together.

In 1998-1999, Tim tried to manipulate Sara Cummings's insecurities about Casey in order to break up Ben and Meg once again. He taunted her with the notion that Casey was going to leave her for Meg if Sara didn't help reunite Meg and Tim. When Sara agreed to "sell her soul to the devil," (episode 513) she helped Tim hatch a plan to get him alone with Meg in Palm Springs while Ben was with Maria. When this plan backfired, Tim repeatedly blackmailed Sara, threatening to go to Casey with everything. He used Sara to get a job as a busboy at the Shockwave, to prevent losing ties to the Cummings family.

In 1999, Tim romanced Tess Marin, a person who came to Sunset Beach with Benjy Evans, Ben's and Maria's son. Tim's intention at first was to pump the nanny for information about the Ben/Meg/Maria battle, but he grew to like Tess genuinely. As a result, in episode 588, Tim stood up to Meg and declared he was over her for the first time. Tim blindly believed everything that Tess said, but things were much different than he thought. She claimed that she had a promissory note from Maria—a million dollars in exchange for breaking up Ben and Meg. Tess used sex and the looming possibility of the money to make Tim do her bidding. Tess was actually working with Derek Evans, who turned out to be alive. Benjy was actually Tess' son. While trying to warn Meg about Derek's return, Tim was killed. Derek strangled him in the Surf Central living room on October 30, and Tim returned a few episodes later to taunt Tess, who was feeling guilty for his murder. Tim eventually left Tess alone on November 15. In the very last episode, Meg had a dream and Tim was involved in it too. Dax Griffin, the character portrayer, agreed to return as a part of her fantasy.

References

SOD Magazine, 6/8/98, "Dax-terity." http://www.oocities.org/televisioncity/Studio/1210/library/dg-interview.html